Last weekend, representatives of the 42 teams gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada, where officials answered questions about the competition schedule and rules. The contestants now have until 15 December to submit final designs.

In October, the field of 111 entrants was cut down to 43 whose initial designs met the qualifying criteria for safety and potential for mass production. Last week, one of the 43 dropped out for reasons of funding. Eric Cahill, director of the competition, expects that more will follow&colon; “Not all of these teams are going to make it to the starting line,” he told New Scientist.

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The remaining teams now face a series of technical hurdles. They need to show adequate progress in completing their cars while passing safety, emissions and efficiency tests. “We’ll be verifying that these are not concept cars or science projects but roadworthy vehicles,” says Cahill.

The challenge culminates in a road race next summer to determine which teams will win the &dollar;10 million prize money. Exact dates and venues will be announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, in January.

“It’s definitely kicked up to the next phase,” says Michael Kadie, leader of SSI Racing, a qualifying team from San Diego, California. Kadie’s entry runs on an all-electric system. Cahill agrees. “The game is really on now,” he says.